Information presentation system and presentation apparatus

ABSTRACT

An information presentation system includes a road identification portion specifying a road that a vehicle goes through, a road usage information storage portion storing road usage information, which associates with and indicates usage status of a road, a traffic hazard information storage portion storing traffic hazard information, which indicates a caution point in road travelling, an information presentation portion presenting the traffic hazard information of the road specified by the road identification portion, and a presentation suppression portion suppressing presentation of the traffic hazard information of the road, which is specified by the road identification portion, when the usage status of the road indicated by the road usage information satisfies a presentation suppression condition.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-83791 filed on Apr. 15, 2014, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an information presentation system and a presentation apparatus used in a vehicle or the like.

BACKGROUND

-   Patent literature 1: JP2011-234042A

A living area configuration system specifies a living area of a user in order to provide suitable information for the user and provides information in the specified living area to the user (referring to patent literature 1).

A navigation apparatus includes traffic hazard information about a caution position such as a sharp bend and an accident prone position. The navigation apparatus performs a warning when a vehicle approaches the caution position.

The inventor of the present application has found the following. A warning based on traffic hazard information may be convenient when the warning is performed on a road with which a user is unfamiliar. However, the warning may be annoying for the user when the warning is performed on a road with which the user is familiar.

By using a living area configuration system, all warnings may be stopped uniformly in a living area. However, the user may not necessarily be familiar with a road in the living area.

Suppressing the warning with respect to the road in the living area may be inconvenient for the user since the user may go through the road in the living area even when the user is unfamiliar with the road.

SUMMARY

It is an object of the present disclosure to provide an information presentation system performing a warning based on traffic hazard information with respect to a caution position to a user without feeling annoyance and without feeling inconvenience. It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a presentation apparatus used in the information presentation system.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an information presentation system includes a road identification portion specifying a subject road that a vehicle goes through, a road usage information storage portion storing road usage information with respect to road usage status, a traffic hazard information storage portion storing traffic hazard information that indicates a caution point in travelling on a road, an information presentation portion presenting the traffic hazard information of the road specified by the road identification portion, and a presentation suppression portion suppressing presentation of the traffic hazard information by the information presentation portion with respect to the road specified by the road identification portion when the road usage status indicated by the road usage information satisfies a presentation suppression condition.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a presentation apparatus used in the information presentation system is provided. The presentation apparatus at least includes the information presentation portion.

According to the information presentation system and the presentation apparatus, since a presentation (a warning) of the traffic hazard information is suppressed when the subject vehicle often goes through a certain road, it may be possible to reduce annoyance due to the warning performed in the road with which a user is familiar.

With respect to a road that the user does not often use, the warning is surely presented and the user may not feel inconvenience even when the road is included in a living area. According to the information presentation system and the presentation apparatus, it may be possible that the warning is performed based on the traffic hazard information regarding a caution point without causing the user to feel annoyance and to feel inconvenience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description made with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a navigation apparatus in a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating information presentation processing in the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating presentation suppression processing in the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating travelling frequency processing in the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a diagram conceptually illustrating a map when the information presentation processing in the first embodiment is executed; and

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating presentation suppression processing in a second embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION First Embodiment

In the following, a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be explained with referring to the drawings.

The present embodiment relates to a navigation apparatus 1 to which an information presentation system of the present disclosure is applied.

The navigation apparatus 1 includes a main body 2 and external devices 30, 32, 34 that are connected to the main body 2, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The main body 2 includes a central control unit 20 provided with a CPU, a ROM, a RAM 20 a, or the like.

The main body 2 includes a hard disk 3 (HD 3) as a storage device, a display 22, an audio output device 24, an input part 26, and another device 28 that is required for a product.

As the external devices, the navigation apparatus 1 includes a GPS antenna device 30, an external monitoring camera 32, and a biosignal obtaining device 34.

The central control unit 20 communicates with the HD 3, the display 22, the audio output device 24, the input part 26, another device 28, the GPS antenna device 30, the external monitoring camera 32, and the biosignal obtaining device 34 through a bus 29, and executes various processing.

The HD 3 stores multiple kinds of information and, for example, the HD 3 stores road usage information, traffic hazard information, map information and ID information of each user.

The road usage information, the traffic hazard information, the map information and the ID information of each user are respectively stored to a road usage information storage area 3 a, a traffic hazard information storage area 3 b, a map information storage area 3 c, and an ID information storage area 3 d in the HD 3. The road usage information storage area 3 a may correspond to a road usage information storage portion. The traffic hazard information storage area 3 b may correspond to a traffic hazard information storage portion.

The road usage information corresponds to information with respect to usage status of each road and each user, and is recorded for each user and each road. Herein, each road means a portion connecting each intersection (also referred to as a crossroads or a branch point). More specifically, a single road will be explained with referring to FIG. 5. Two cross roads attached with symbols R1, R2 are described in FIG. 5, and a road connecting the two crossroads R1, R2 corresponds to a single road.

In addition, in the present embodiment, it is considered that two different roads connecting the two crossroads R1, R2 exist based on a direction connecting between the crossroads R1, R2. That is, with respect to roads connecting the crossroads R1 and the crossroads R2 in FIG. 5, it is considered that a road connecting from the crossroads R1 to the crossroads R2 is different from a road connecting from the crossroads R2 to the crossroads R1.

Incidentally, this definition of the road is applied to the present embodiment. It should be noted that any kind of a definition of a road may be used. For example, a road connecting between the crossroads R1 and the crossroads R2 may be defined as a single road irrespective of the connecting direction.

The road usage information corresponds to information connecting information that specifies a road, travelling frequency information (also, referred to as information on the number of travelling times) that represents the number of travelling times of the road, skipping frequency information (also, referred to as information on the number of skipping times or information on the number of passing times) that represents the number of times that a presentation of the traffic hazard information is skipped, addition date information that represents a last addition date when a travelling frequency are added, ID information, and addition history information that represents a history representing the travelling frequency is added, in the information presentation processing.

In the present embodiment, it is considered that the travelling frequency to the same road is counted as one time even when the road is used multiple times in a day. Therefore, the travelling frequency information is added once a day.

In the present embodiment, with respect to the skipping frequency information, the skipping frequency is added by one each time when the same road that the driver goes through.

The traffic hazard information represents a caution in travelling on a road. Specifically, the traffic hazard information includes information of a position where a temporary stop or a stop is instructed, information of a position where various cautions such as a running out caution, a railway crossing caution, a sharp bend caution, and speed limit information are indicated, information of a traffic change point such as a left-turn only lane and a right-turn only lane, and information indicating an accident prone position. The traffic hazard information is not limited to information mentioned in the present embodiments and a user may define the traffic hazard information appropriately.

The map information corresponds to image information for displaying a map on the display 22.

The map information in the present embodiment is used at the time of route guidance. In addition, since the display 22 displays a map including a mark or the like that illustrate the traffic hazard information, the map information is used at the time of an illustrating of the map so as to notify the traffic hazard information for a user.

The ID information is used for identifying a driver. The ID information is used in order to identify a user who corresponds to a driver.

In the present embodiment, since the road usage information is separately stored for each user, the ID information is used for distinguishing a user from other users.

The user operates the input part 26 to input the ID information in the present embodiment.

The display 22 corresponds to a built-in liquid-crystal type image output device. The display 22 is built into a housing of the navigation apparatus 1 in the present embodiment so that a screen of the display 22 is positioned to one face of the housing of the navigation apparatus 1.

The screen of the display 22 is provided so as to face to a passenger compartment of a vehicle when the navigation apparatus 1 is mounted to the vehicle.

The audio output device 24 includes a speaker 24 a or the like and outputs sound for notifying the traffic hazard information. Incidentally, the speaker 24 a may be a speaker provided to the vehicle in advance.

The input part 26 includes multiple operation buttons or the like and each operation button is provided around the screen of the display 22 on a surface of the housing of the navigation apparatus 1. The input part 26 includes the number and kinds of operation buttons so that a user enables to input the ID information at least.

The GPS antenna device 30 receives a signal of a positional measurement from a GPS satellite, calculates a position of the subject vehicle having the navigation apparatus 1 from the received signal, and transmits calculated information as positional information to the central control unit 20 at any time.

The central control unit 20 stores the positional information to the RAM 20 a when the central control unit 20 receives the positional information from the GPS antenna device 30. The positional information is deleted after being stored for a predetermined period.

The external monitoring camera 32 is a device capturing the outside of the vehicle, and transmits a captured image to the central control unit 20.

When the central control unit 20 in the present embodiment receives the image from the external monitoring camera 32, the central control unit 20 analyzes the image, specifies a driving environment outside the vehicle such as weather around the subject vehicle, and stores the specified information as driving environment information to the RAM 20 a. The driving environment information is updated at any time while the vehicle is operating.

The biosignal obtaining device 34 is a device attached to a driver, and obtains biomedical signals such as a pulse and blood pressure of the driver.

When the central control unit 20 in the present embodiment receives a biosignal (a biomedical signal) from the biosignal obtaining device 34, the central control unit 20 analyzes the biosignal, specifies a status of the driver, and stores the specified information as driver status information to the RAM 20 a. The driver status information is updated at any time while the vehicle is operating and the driver puts on the biosignal obtaining device 34.

The navigation apparatus 1 in the present embodiment determines a status of the driver such as annoyance and impatience of the driver by obtaining the driver status information.

(Information Presentation Processing)

The information presentation processing will be explained with referring to FIG. 2.

The central control unit 20 executes the information presentation processing. The information presentation processing is initiated when a user instructs the central control unit 20 to execute the information presentation processing with the input part 26 or the like.

Incidentally, hereinafter, processing will be executed in an order from a step with a small number.

When the information presentation processing is initiated, processing of 510 is initially executed.

At S10, processing for instructing a user to input an ID is executed. At S12, when the user inputs the ID by operating the input part 26, the ID information is stored to the RAM 20 a.

At S14, the central control unit 20 performs a map matching between the map information stored in the map information storage area 3 c and multiple positional information stored in the RAM 20 a, specifies a road where the subject vehicle drives currently, and stores road information of the road to the RAM 20 a.

At S14, based on multiple positional information stored in the RAM 20 a, the central control unit 20 specifies a travelling direction of the subject vehicle in the specified road, and stores the travelling direction as the road information to the RAM 20 a.

At S16, when there is the traffic hazard information being set to the road and corresponding to the travelling direction specified at S14, the central control unit 20 reads the traffic hazard information from the HD 3.

At S18, the central control unit 20 determines whether the traffic hazard information read out at S16 includes the traffic hazard information to the road specified at S14.

When there is not traffic hazard information to be read out initially or when there is traffic hazard information to the road but the traffic hazard information corresponds to a direction opposite to the travelling direction of the vehicle (S18: NO), the processing shifts to S28. In other words, the processing shifts to S28 when the traffic hazard information which should be presented does not exist. After S28, the processing of S14 and thereafter is repeatedly executed.

When the traffic hazard information to be presented is stored (S18: YES), the processing shifts to S20.

At S20, the road usage information corresponding to the ID information input at S12 and corresponding to the road specified at S14 is read from the HD 3. The road usage information is stored to the RAM 20 a.

At S22, the central control unit 20 obtains the recent driving environment information with the external monitoring camera 32 and stores the driving environment information to the RAM 20 a.

At S24, the central control unit 20 obtains the recent driver status information with the biosignal obtaining device 34 and stores the driver status information to the RAM 20 a. The processing shifts to S5.

At S5, the presentation suppression processing that suppresses a presentation of the traffic hazard information is executed. A detail of the presentation suppression processing will be described later. After S5, processing of S26 is executed.

At S26, processing that presents the traffic hazard information is executed based on a processing result of S5. Specifically, the display 22 displays a map with a position where the traffic hazard information is set and a present position of the subject vehicle. The audio output device 24 outputs a type of the traffic hazard information with sound.

In addition, at S26, the skipping frequency information of the road usage information with respect to the road that the traffic hazard information has been presented is set to zero.

At S28, the central control unit 20 updates the road usage information of the road specified at S14.

The travelling frequency of the road usage information is updated once a day. Therefore, when the last addition date corresponds to today, the road usage information is not updated. When the last addition date does not correspond to today, one is added to the travelling frequency so that the travelling frequency is updated.

With respect to a skipping record represented by the skipping frequency information, when the traffic hazard information is not presented at S26, one is added to the skipping frequency, so that the skipping frequency is updated. When the traffic hazard information is presented, the skipping frequency is changed to zero.

With respect to the last addition date, even when the traffic hazard information is not presented at S26, the last addition date is updated to a current day when the last addition date corresponds to a past date.

After the update processing of S28 completes, the processing of S14 and thereafter are repeatedly executed.

(Presentation Suppression Processing)

The presentation suppression processing will be explained with referring to FIG. 3.

The central control unit 20 executes the presentation suppression processing.

Incidentally, processing will be executed in an order from a small step number.

In the presentation suppression processing, the processing of S50 is initially executed.

At S50, the central control unit 20 determines whether the road specified at S14 corresponds to a road that the driver goes through once a day based on the road usage information. Specifically, the central control unit 20 determines the travelling frequency from the addition history information of the road usage information. When the travelling frequency in a week is divided by four, and a result of the division is one or more, it is determined that the driver goes through the road once a day.

It may be considered that the road determined as a road that a driver goes through once a day corresponds to a road used for commuting to an office, commuting to a school, shopping, or the like. The road determined as a road that the driver goes through once a day is not limited to the examples.

When the traffic hazard information of the road that a driver goes through often is presented, the presentation may be annoying for the driver in many cases. Therefore, at S50, the presentation of the traffic hazard information may be suppressed.

That is, when the road specified at S14 corresponds to a road where the driver goes through once a day based on the road usage information (S50: YES), processing of S60 and thereafter are executed and the traffic hazard information is not presented basically.

When it is determined that the road specified at S14 does not correspond to the road where the driver goes through once a day according to the road usage information (S50: NO), processing of S52 is executed.

At S52, it is determined whether the road specified at S14 corresponds to the road where the driver goes through once a week according to the road usage information. Specifically, the central control unit 20 determines the travelling frequency from the addition history information of the road usage information. When the travelling frequency in a month is divided by three, and a result of the division is one or more, it is determined that the driver goes through the road once a week. It may be considered that the road determined as being used once a week corresponds to a road used for shopping, commuting to a hospital, leisure, or the like. However, the road determined as being used once a week is not limited to these examples.

When the traffic hazard information of the road that the driver goes through often is presented, the presentation may be annoying for the driver in many cases. However, in a case where the driver goes through the road about once a week, the driver may forget a position where the traffic hazard information is presented. Therefore, at S52, it is determined whether the road where the driver goes through at the moment corresponds to such a road.

When the road specified at S14 corresponds to the road where the driver goes through once a week according to the road usage information (S52: YES), processing of S54 is executed. When the road specified at S14 does not correspond to a road where the driver goes through once a week according to the road usage information (S52: NO), processing of S56 is executed.

At S54, the central control unit 20 determines whether the traffic hazard information with respect to the road where the driver goes through at the moment has not been presented over previous three times. Specifically, based on the skipping frequency information of the road usage information, it is determined whether the traffic hazard information has not been presented over previous three times.

When it is determined that the presentation of the traffic hazard information has skipped over the three previous times (S54: YES), the processing shifts to S26 since the driver may forget the position where the traffic hazard information is presented. At S26, the traffic hazard information is presented.

When it is determined that the presentation of the traffic hazard information has not been skipped over the previous three times (S54: NO), processing of S60 and thereafter are executed and the traffic hazard information is not presented basically since the driver may be less likely to forget the position where the traffic hazard information is presented.

At S56, it is determined whether the road specified at S14 corresponds to a road where the driver goes through once a month according to the road usage information. Specifically, the central control unit 20 determines the travelling frequency based on the addition history information of the road usage information. It is determined that the road is used once a month when the travelling frequency in six months is divided by five and a result of the division is one or more. It may be considered that a road used once a month corresponds to a road for commuting to a hospital, leisure, driving or the like. The road determined as being used once a month is not limited to the examples.

When the traffic hazard information of the road, which the driver knows since the driver goes through occasionally although the driver does not go through often, is presented, the presentation may be annoying for the driver in a case. Therefore, at S56, it is determined whether a road where the driver goes through at the moment corresponds to such a road.

When the road specified at S14 corresponds to a road where the driver goes through once a month according to the road usage information (S56: YES), processing of S58 is executed. When the road specified at S14 does not correspond to a road where the driver goes through once a month according to the road usage information (S56: NO), the traffic hazard information is presented (S26). Incidentally, the road corresponding to the road where the driver does not go through once a month includes a road where the driver goes through for the first time, a road used for returning home, a road for driving, for example.

At S58, the central control unit 20 determines whether the traffic hazard information with respect to the road where the driver goes through at the moment is not presented in a previous time. A recording of information whether the traffic hazard information is skipped in a previous time is similar to S54. Based on the skipping frequency information of the road usage information, it is determined whether the traffic hazard information is not presented in the previous time.

When it is determined that the presentation of the traffic hazard information is skipped in a previous time (S58: YES), the traffic hazard information is presented in processing of S26.

When it is determined that the presentation of the traffic hazard information is not skipped in a previous time (S58: NO), processing of S60 and thereafter are executed and the traffic hazard information is not presented basically.

At S60, based on the driving environment information obtained at S22, it is determined whether weather in a position of the subject vehicle is fine.

The traffic hazard information is not presented basically when it is determined as YES at S50, NO at S54, or NO at S58. However, the driver may not recognize that the subject vehicle has reached the position where the traffic hazard information known by the driver is presented when the vehicle reaches the position in a condition where rain falls heavily, fog is dense, snow falls, a road is iced, or the like.

At S60, it is determined whether the traffic hazard information is presented exceptionally based on the driving environment even in a case where the traffic hazard information is not presented basically. Incidentally, a determination standard may be set appropriately.

When it is determined that weather is not fine and the driving environment indicates that the traffic hazard information may be presented exceptionally (S60: NO), the traffic hazard information is presented (S26). When it is determined that weather is fine (S60: YES), the traffic hazard information is not presented basically and processing of S62 is executed.

At S62, it is determined whether the driver is annoyed based on the driver status information obtained at S24.

Even when the traffic hazard information is not presented basically, the driver may forget the traffic hazard information when the driver is annoyed and the driver drives the vehicle in a poor mental condition.

Therefore, at S62, it is determined whether the traffic hazard information may be presented based on the status of the driver even when the traffic hazard information is not presented basically. Incidentally, a determination standard may be set appropriately and, for example, the determination standard may be a case where a pulse of the driver is higher than a predetermined value.

When it is determined that the status of the driver is not good (S62: NO), the traffic hazard information is presented (S26). When it is determined that the status of the driver is good (S62: YES), the traffic hazard information is not presented basically and processing of S64 is executed.

At S64, the central control unit 20 determines whether today corresponds to a specified day.

The specified day corresponds to, for example, a day when the number of a traffic death is aimed to be zero, a day in a traffic safety week, a day when a driver and a pedestrian should pay attention to traffic safety especially.

When it is determined that today corresponds to the specified day (S64: YES), the traffic hazard information is presented (S26). When today does not correspond to the specified day (S64: NO), the traffic hazard information is not presented basically, and processing of S66 is executed.

At S66, the skipping frequency information of the road usage information is updated by adding one, and processing of S28 is executed (3).

Incidentally, at S50, S52, and S56, it is determined whether a driver goes through a road once a day, a week, and a month respectively. It should be noted that the standard is not limited to the present embodiment. When a determination whether the standard is satisfied cannot be performed, the traffic hazard information may be presented each time until the number of the traveling time reaches ten times.

This manner is an example and the manner is not limited to the present embodiment.

(Travelling Frequency Processing)

Travelling frequency processing manages the number of travelling times of a road, and the travelling frequency processing will be explained with referring to FIG. 4.

Incidentally, hereinafter, processing will be executed in an order from a small step number.

The travelling frequency processing manages the travelling frequency information, which is linked with the road usage information.

The travelling frequency processing may be executed at any time while the navigation apparatus 1 is operating.

The travelling frequency processing is executed one by one with respect to the road usage information other than road usage information whose travelling frequency information is equal to zero. In the following explanation, processing to certain road usage information will be explained.

In the travelling frequency processing, processing of S70 is executed initially.

At S70, it is determined whether the travelling frequency is one or two with respect to a certain road. When the travelling frequency is one or two (S70: YES), processing of S74 is executed. When the travelling frequency is not one or two (S70: NO), that is, the travelling frequency is three or more, processing of S72 is executed.

At S74, processing to determine whether the travelling frequency has been added in a month is executed. The determination is executed based on the addition history information.

At S74, when it is determined that the travelling frequency has not been added for a month (S74: NO), processing of S76 is executed and the travelling frequency information is set to zero. A step described as (1) in FIG. 4 and FIG. 3 is performed and the travelling frequency processing ends. This process is performed since the traffic hazard information may not be presented even though the traffic hazard information should be presented at the present moment when an old travelling frequency information derived from an old usage record is tied with the road usage information indefinitely.

When it is determined that the travelling frequency is added in a month (S74: YES), the travelling frequency processing ends.

At S72, it is determined whether the travelling frequency is three to six with respect to the certain road. When the travelling frequency is three to six (S72: YES), processing of S78 is executed. When the travelling frequency is seven or more (S72: NO), processing of S82 is executed.

At S78 and S82, processing to determine whether the travelling frequency has been added within three months is executed.

At S78 and S82, when it is determined that the travelling frequency has not been added for three months (S78: NO, S82: NO), processing of S80 or S84 is executed and the travelling frequency information is reduced. A step described as (1) in FIG. 4 and FIG. 3 is performed and the travelling frequency processing ends. When the travelling frequency is three to six (S72: YES), the travelling frequency is set to one at S80. When the travelling frequency is equal to seven or more (S72: NO), the travelling frequency is set to five at S84. An extent of a reduction of the travelling frequency is different in these cases since it may be less likely a driver forgets the traffic hazard information to a road that the driver goes through often.

When it is determined that the travelling frequency has added within three months (S78: YES or S82: YES), the travelling frequency processing ends. The navigation apparatus 1 in the embodiment includes the following technical effects.

When the information presentation processing is executed, a travelling status of a road is obtained as described in FIG. 5 in a conceptual sense.

In FIG. 5, for example, a road between a house and an office is recognized as a road that a driver uses more than once a day. A road between a school and a station, a road between a school and a store via a station, and a road going to an direction opposite to the station from the school are also recognized as a road that the driver uses more than once a day.

Most roads around the house or the school are considered as roads that the driver uses more than once a week or roads that the driver uses more than once a month.

In FIG. 5, a living area is surrounded by a dashed line. The living area includes the house, the school, the store, or the like. Most roads outside the living area are considered as a road that the driver uses less than once a month. When the information presentation processing is executed, the traffic hazard information may not be presented basically to a road that the driver uses more than once a day even when the traffic hazard information is set to the road.

With respect to a road that the driver uses more than once a week, the traffic hazard information is presented after the traffic hazard information is skipped three times.

With respect to a road that the driver uses more than once a month, the traffic hazard information is presented every other time. With respect to a road having a lower usage frequency, the traffic hazard information is presented each time. The road having a lower usage frequency may correspond to a road that the driver uses less than once a month or a road that the driver uses for the first time.

According to the present embodiment, when a usage frequency is determined as high to a certain road (S50: YES, S54: NO, S58: NO), the presentation of the traffic hazard information is suppressed. Therefore, it may be possible to reduce annoyance due to a warning performed in a road with which the user is familiar. A case where the usage frequency is determined as high may correspond to a case where a presentation suppression condition is satisfied.

With respect to a road that the user does not use often, the warning is surely presented and the user may not feel inconvenience even when the road is included in a living area.

Therefore, according to the navigation apparatus 1 in the present embodiment, it may be possible to perform the warning based on the traffic hazard information without feeling annoyance and without feeling inconvenience for the user.

In addition, since the warning is performed based on a degree to which the user knows the road, it may be possible to perform the warning based on the traffic hazard information regarding a caution point without causing the user to feel annoyance and to feel inconvenience.

Second Embodiment

The second embodiment in the present disclosure will be explained.

The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in presentation suppression processing.

Since a configuration and processing other than the presentation suppression processing is similar to the first embodiment, the configurations and the processing have the identical symbols. A point different from the first embodiment is explained with referring to FIG. 6.

The presentation suppression processing in the second embodiment is executed by the central control unit 20.

Incidentally, processing will be executed in an order from a small step number.

In the presentation suppression processing, processing of S150 is initially executed.

At S150, the central control unit 20 determines whether the road specified at S14 corresponds to a road whose travelling frequency is twice or less according to the road usage information. It may be considered that the driver does not recognize the traffic hazard information of such roads.

Therefore, when the road specified at S14 corresponds to the road whose travelling frequency is twice or less based on the road usage information (S150: YES), the central control unit 20 performs the traffic hazard information at S26.

When the road specified at S14 corresponds to the road whose travelling frequency is three times or more based on the road usage information (S150: NO), processing of S152 is executed.

At S152, the central control unit 20 determines whether the road specified at S14 corresponds to a road whose travelling frequency is three to six based on the road usage information. It may be considered that such roads correspond to a road for commuting to a hospital, leisure, driving or the like. The road is not limited to the examples.

When the traffic hazard information of the road, which the driver knows since the driver goes through occasionally although the driver does not go through often, is presented, the presentation may be annoying for the driver in a case. Therefore, at S152, it is determined whether a road where the driver goes through corresponds to such roads.

When the road specified at S14 corresponds to the road whose travelling frequency is three to six based on the road usage information (S152: YES), processing of S154 is executed.

When the road specified at S14 corresponds to the road whose travelling frequency is seven or more based on the road usage information (S152: NO), processing of S156 is executed.

At S154, it is determined whether the presentation of the traffic hazard information with respect to the road that the driver goes through at the moment is skipped in a previous time.

When it is determined that the presentation of the traffic hazard information is skipped in the previous time, that is, it is determined that the traffic hazard information is not presented in the previous time (S154: NO), the traffic hazard information is presented at S26.

When it is determined that the presentation of the traffic hazard information is not skipped in the previous time, that is, the traffic hazard information presented in the previous time (S154: YES), processing of S162 and thereafter is executed and the traffic hazard information is not presented basically.

At S156, the central control unit 20 determines whether the road specified at S14 corresponds to a road whose travelling frequency is seven to ten based on the road usage information. It may be considered that such roads correspond to a road used for shopping, commuting to a hospital, leisure, or the like. However, the road is not limited to these examples.

When the traffic hazard information of the road that the driver goes through often is presented, the presentation may be annoying for the driver in many cases. However, in a case where the travelling frequency is seven to ten, the driver may forget a position where the traffic hazard information is presented. Therefore, at S156, it is determined whether the road where the driver goes through at the moment corresponds to such roads.

When the road specified at S14 corresponds to the road whose travelling frequency is seven to ten based on the road usage information (S156: YES), processing of S158 is executed. When the road specified at S14 corresponds to the road whose travelling frequency is eleven or more based on the road usage information (S156: NO), processing of S162 is executed and the traffic hazard information is not presented basically.

It may be considered that the road whose travelling frequency is eleven or more corresponds to a road used for commuting to an office, commuting to a school, shopping, or the like. When the traffic hazard information is presented in a road whose travelling frequency is high, the presentation may be annoying for the driver in many cases. In the present embodiment, the presentation of the traffic hazard information is suppressed.

At S158, it is determined whether the road that the driver goes through at the moment corresponds to a road to which the traffic hazard information is presented within a week. In other words, it is determined whether the traffic hazard information with respect to the road has been skipped for a week. Incidentally, information representing whether the traffic hazard information is presented within a week may be stored to the HD 3 with the road usage information, or may be stored to a storage medium when the central control unit 20 includes a non-volatile storage, or may be stored in another method.

When it is determined that the presentation of the traffic hazard information has skipped for a week (S158: YES), processing of S160 is executed and it is determined whether the traffic hazard information is presented five times before.

When it is determined that the presentation of the traffic hazard information has not skipped within a week (S158: NO) or it is determined that the traffic information is presented five times before (S160: YES), it may be less likely that the driver forgets a position where the traffic hazard information is presented. Processing of S162 and thereafter is executed, and the traffic hazard information is not presented basically. The term “basically” may mean that it is temporarily determined that the traffic hazard information is not presented.

When the presentation of the traffic hazard information has skipped for a week (S158: YES) and the traffic hazard information is not presented five times before (S160: NO), the driver may forget the position where the traffic hazard information is presented. In processing of S26, the traffic hazard information is presented.

At S162, it is determined whether the traffic hazard information has presented within six months. The driver may forget the traffic hazard information with respect to a road where the driver often goes through after six months. When it is determined that the traffic hazard information has not been presented for six months (S162: NO), processing of S26 is executed and the traffic hazard information is presented. When it is determined that the traffic hazard information is presented within six months (S162: YES), processing of S164 is executed.

At S164, based on the driving environment information obtained at S22, it is determined whether weather in a position of the subject vehicle is fine.

When it is determined that weather is not fine and the driving environment indicates that the traffic hazard information should be presented exceptionally (S164: NO), the traffic hazard information is presented (S26). When it is determined that weather is fine (S164: YES), the traffic hazard information is not presented basically. Processing of S166 is executed.

At S166, it is determined whether the driver is annoyed based on the driver status information obtained at S24.

When it is determined that the driver status is not good (S166: NO), the traffic hazard information is presented (2) (S26). When it is determined that the driver status is good (S166: YES), the traffic hazard information is not presented basically. Processing of S168 is executed.

At S168, the central control unit 20 determines whether today corresponds to a specified day.

The specified day corresponds to, for example, a day when the number of a traffic death is aimed to zero, a day in a traffic safety week, a day when a driver and a pedestrian should especially pay attention to traffic safety.

When it is determined that today corresponds to the specified day (S168: YES), the traffic hazard information is presented (2) (S26). When today does not correspond to the specified day (S168: NO), the traffic hazard information is not presented basically, and processing of S28 is executed (3). The processing of S26 is not executed.

According to the present embodiment, when a road usage degree is determined as high to a certain road (S150: NO, S154: YES, S158: NO, S160: YES), the presentation of the traffic hazard information is suppressed. Therefore, it may be possible to reduce annoyance due to the warning performed in a road with which a user is familiar. Incidentally, a case where the road usage degree is determined as high may correspond to a case where the presentation suppression condition is satisfied.

The warning is surely presented with respect to the road that the user does not use often, and the user may not feel inconvenience even when the road is included in the living area.

Therefore, according to the navigation apparatus 1 in the present embodiment, it may be possible to perform the warning based on the traffic hazard information without feeling annoyance and without feeling inconvenience for the user.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, since it is determined whether the traffic hazard information is presented based on the travelling frequency, it may be possible to determine whether the traffic hazard information is presented.

Other Embodiments

Although the embodiments of the present disclosure are explained, the present disclosure is not limited to the present embodiments. It should be noted that the present disclosure may take various modes.

(1) The navigation apparatus 1 explained in the present embodiments is an example to which the information presentation system in the present disclosure is applied, and the present disclosure is not limited to the present disclosure.

(2) In the present embodiments, a liquid crystal image output device is an example of the display 22. The display 22 is not limited to a liquid crystal. In addition, a display that is built into a housing of the navigation apparatus 1 is exemplified as the display 22. A display may be separated from the navigation apparatus 1, that is, a display may be an external display.

(3) In the present embodiments, the multiple operation buttons are exemplified as the input part 26. The input part 26 may be a transparent touch panel, which is provided and overlapped on a screen of the display 22. In this case, a pseudo operation button is displayed on the screen of the display 22. When a user touches a portion where the pseudo operation button is displayed, the central control unit 20 may determine that an operation corresponding to the operation button is performed. The input part 26 may be a remote control device or various devices (for example, a mobile phone), which can wirelessly communicate with the navigation apparatus 1.

A specifying method of a driver is not limited to the ID information, and any kind of information may be used. For example, a camera taking an image of the interior of the vehicle may capture a driver and the driver may be identified based on information of the captured image. A microphone may analyze a voice print of a driver and the driver may be identified. A driver may be identified with an ID of a keyless device.

(4) In the present embodiment, the traffic hazard information stored in the HD 3 is used. An external device provided outside the vehicle and providing or storing the traffic hazard information may communicate with the navigation apparatus 1. The traffic hazard information obtained from the external device may be used.

Even when the traffic hazard information stored in the HD 3 is used, the traffic hazard information stored in the HD 3 may be updated with the traffic hazard information obtained from the external device at any time and the updated traffic hazard information may be used.

In this case, the navigation apparatus 1 may include a communication device for communicating with the external device. The communication device may be a general public line network communicably connected to the external device or may be a communication device wirelessly communicable to an internet network.

The communication device may not be included in the navigation apparatus 1. The communication device may communicate with an external communication device such as a mobile phone to communicate to the external device.

(5) In the present embodiments, the navigation apparatus 1 includes the display 22 or the audio output device 24 as a configuration corresponding to an information presentation portion in the present disclosure. The information presentation portion is not limited to the display 22 or the audio output device 24. For example, the information presentation portion may be an indicator, a steering vibration device, a sheet vibration device, a buzzer, or the like.

(6) In the present embodiment, the HD 3 corresponds to a caution point memory portion in the present disclosure. The caution point memory portion may be an external device provided to the outside of the vehicle. In this case, a device may be required for communicating to the external device, similar to a case of obtaining the traffic hazard information.

(7) In the present embodiment, the external monitoring camera 32 corresponds to a driving environment estimation portion in the present disclosure, and the driving environment information is obtained by analyzing a captured image. The driving environment information (for example, information provided from AMEDAS) such as weather of the position of the subject vehicle may be obtained by communicating with an external portion. The driving environment information may be obtained from the vehicle signal that indicates an operation status of a windshield wiper or an antilock brake system.

(8) In the present embodiment, the navigation apparatus 1 includes the biosignal obtaining device 34 as a driver status estimation portion in the present disclosure. The driver status estimation portion, which obtains the driver status information from a driver, may be an internal monitoring camera. In this case, by capturing a driver with the internal monitoring camera, analyzing an image, and analyzing whether the driver dozes off or whether the driver behaves strangely or the like, it may be possible to utilize the analyzed result as the driver status information.

A deice for indirectly obtaining the driver status information may be the external monitoring camera 32, the inter vehicle radar device, a device outputting a vehicle signal with respect to an acceleration of the subject vehicle or a steering angle. When the subject vehicle approaches another vehicle or the like unnaturally or when a steering operation is performed unnaturally, a driver status such as a doze of the driver and an irritation of the driver may be considered.

(9) In order to improve usability, a usage frequency may be increased when a driver sequentially uses a certain road within a predetermined period.

(10) Incidentally, each component in the present disclosure corresponds to conceptual one, and each component is not limited to the present embodiment. For example, a function in a single component may be divided into multiple components. Functions in multiple components may be combined into a single component. At least one part of configurations in the present embodiments may be replaced with a well-known configuration having a similar function. At least one part of configurations in the present embodiments may be added or replaced with a configuration in another embodiment.

Incidentally, each of the processing of S50, S52, S54, S56, S58, S60, S62, S64, S150, S152, S154, S156, S158, S160, S162, S164, S166, and S168 may be an example of the presentation suppression condition.

Incidentally, the navigation apparatus 1 and a mobile terminal correspond to an example of a presentation apparatus used in the information presentation system. The presentation apparatus includes at least presentation portion. The display 22 and the audio output device, and the processing of S26 correspond to the presentation portion. When the presentation apparatus does not includes another configuration, the presentation apparatus may include a communication portion that communicates with a configuration. The external monitoring camera 32 corresponds to a driving environment estimation portion. The input part 26 and processing of S10 and S12 correspond to a driver identification portion. The processing of S14 corresponds to a road identification portion. The processing of S5 corresponds to a presentation suppression portion.

It is noted that a flowchart or the processing of the flowchart in the present application includes steps (also referred to as sections), each of which is represented, for instance, as S10. Further, each step may be divided into several sub-steps while several steps may be combined into a single step. While the present disclosure has been described with reference to embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the embodiments and constructions. The present disclosure is intended to cover various modification and equivalent arrangements. In addition, while the various combinations and configurations, other combinations and configurations, including more, less or only a single element, are also within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An information presentation system comprising: a road identification portion specifying a road that a subject vehicle is going through; a road usage information storage portion storing road usage information, which associates with and indicates usage status of a road; a traffic hazard information storage portion storing traffic hazard information, which indicates a caution point in road travelling; an information presentation portion presenting the traffic hazard information of the road specified by the road identification portion; and a presentation suppression portion suppressing presentation of the traffic hazard information of the road, which is specified by the road identification portion, when the usage status of the road indicated by the road usage information satisfies a presentation suppression condition.
 2. The information presentation system according to claim 1, wherein the presentation suppression portion determines that the presentation suppression condition is satisfied and suppresses the presentation of the traffic hazard information as a usage frequency of the road by the subject vehicle is increased.
 3. The information presentation system according to claim 1, wherein the presentation suppression portion presents the traffic hazard information when the traffic hazard information has not been presented predetermined times.
 4. The information presentation system according to claim 1, wherein the presentation suppression portion presents the traffic hazard information on a specified day.
 5. The information presentation system according to claim 1 further comprising a driver status estimation portion estimating a driver status, wherein the presentation suppression portion presents the traffic hazard information when the driver status estimation portion determines that the driver status is in a wrong condition.
 6. The information presentation system according to claim 1 further comprising a driving environment estimation portion estimating a driving environment at a position of the subject vehicle, wherein the presentation suppression portion presents the traffic hazard information when the driving environment estimation portion determines that the driving environment is in a wrong condition.
 7. The information presentation system according to claim 1, wherein a travelling frequency indicating the usage status of the road is reduced when a driver does not use sequentially for a predetermined period.
 8. The information presentation system according to claim 1 further comprising a driver identification portion identifying a driver, wherein the presentation suppression portion suppresses the presentation of the traffic hazard information with respect to the road specified by the road identification portion when the usage status of the road by the driver specified by the driver identification portion satisfies the presentation suppression condition.
 9. A presentation apparatus used in an information presentation system, wherein the information presentation system including: a road identification portion specifying a road that a vehicle goes through; a road usage information storage portion storing road usage information, which associates with and indicates usage status of a road; a traffic hazard information storage portion storing traffic hazard information, which indicates a caution point in road travelling; an information presentation portion presenting the traffic hazard information of the road specified by the road identification portion; and a presentation suppression portion suppressing presentation of the traffic hazard information of the road, which is specified by the road identification portion, when the usage status of the road indicated by the road usage information satisfies a presentation suppression condition, and the presentation apparatus includes at least the information presentation portion.
 10. The information presentation system according to claim 3, further comprising: a driver status estimation portion estimating a driver status; a driving environment estimation portion estimating a driving environment at a position of the vehicle; and a driver identification portion identifying a driver, wherein the presentation suppression portion presents the traffic hazard information when the driver status estimation portion determines that the driver status is in a wrong condition, the presentation suppression portion presents the traffic hazard information when the driving environment estimation portion determines that the driving environment is in a wrong condition, and the presentation suppression portion suppresses the presentation of the traffic hazard information with respect to the road specified by the road identification portion executed by the information presentation portion when the usage status of the road by the driver specified by the driver identification portion satisfies the presentation suppression condition. 